The Light in the Tunnel.....

    I am a 'YouTube' hunter.  I search what must surely be one of the largest data-bases on the web for oddities that I find either amusing, surprising or informative and interesting.  It hardly matters what topic you can think of; there is a bottomless reservoir of videos on it.  I started doing this during the Great Shut-down this early spring...because I found the regular news and even network programming to be too depressing.  On the one hand, I want to stay informed....on the other hand, it can be overwhelming to expose oneself to the daily avalanche of bad news and--worse--ominous events that point to bigger problems in our country and across our society.

   Here's an example:  the numerous reports that the GOPs plan to steal the upcoming election...right from under our noses and in plain sight of the entire world.  They are practicing how this will be accomplished by doing it, for instance, in Georgia.  Arranging for unconscionably long lines, fewer polling places, lack of support for shut-ins and anybody who would need or prefer to vote early, by mail-in ballot, voter roll purges...in the millions nationwide....that cannot be identified as criminal and are very hard--if not impossible--to stop.  Of course, these efforts are aimed directly at the low-income districts of any jurisdiction....which also happen to be home to a much larger population of people of color.  So, the lily-white burbs can vote and the diverse inner-city hoods can't.  That's the plan. 

  GOPs know that this combination of lack of access on election day or before, along with the need for voter I.D.s, and the roll purges, along with any other obstacles they can think of...is a sure winner.  They have already succeeded in doing this against Al Gore and John Kerry, so why wouldn't they plan on doing it again? We still don't have the full picture of how they pulled it off against Hillary  Clinton....but Russians, bots and all that, are in the mix.  And, this time around, for good measure, they will once again have help from Russia and hoards of 'bots' on the web who can front-load misinformation and sew spurious ideas liberally throughout the voter-ship. 

   It will haunt us--those Americans who clearly see what the Idiot is doing and hate it--if we are unable to prevent this blatant theft of America's greatest asset: A Free and Fair Democracy.  In fact, it will signify that we have entered a phase of our process in which our demise is onrushing ever faster and will arrive imminently.  All this political 'sturm und drang', however, is just a side-show.  The real threat is not this pathetic orange Idiot.  He's a problem, yes, but, the real 'light at the end of the tunnel' is still, and will remain CLIMATE DISASTER.  Not only is it not going away, it will be our final and utterly horrendous comeuppance.
 
   Don't believe me.  I don't care if you choose to embrace either willful ignorance, or just simply denial.  It matters not at all.  But, here we are, still in a position to make some decisions that will have a pivotal role in shaping how we move into this dire future that awaits.  And, if you are going, "What's he talking about?" or thinking, "Ah, climate change...not such a big deal as all the alarmists are making it out to be."  Then, pure and simple: YOU ARE DANCING WITH THE DEVIL.

   Wonder what I mean by that?  Your mind is lost in a fantasy that we're going to 'fix it'.  And, as time passes, it becomes more and more clear that, no, we are not.  Too little effort, too much denial, lots of distractions....and, before you know it: BLOOHIE!!!   The truth is, we are one methane 'burp' from entering a global emergency from which only a minor percentage of people will emerge alive. Our lives are in much greater jeopardy than most people are willing to accept, or even acknowledge is possible.

  Part of you wants to jump up and shout, "Oh BULLSHIT!!!"  But, another part of you knows that there is this ominous feeling around the future of humanity.  The gravest situation we could face--other than nuking each other into the Twilight of the Gods, i.e. the Gotterdamerung--is almost unavoidable at this point.  The population of the planet is already growing faster and larger than global agriculture is going to be able to feed.  Mass starvation has happened multiple times in places like Africa and Asia...but, we don't really think of that as affecting us, right?

  But, maybe you had the same experience my wife and I did when this pandemic got cranked up.  We walked into our local Hannaford market...and were confronted by some stripped shelves.  It was only for toilet paper, towels and items like soups, pasta, baking supplies, some meats and anything that could sanitize.  But, it damn-sure gave us a glimpse of what it could be like to walk in and see ALL THE SHELVES EMPTY.  Now, that would be one great big ol' 'Holy Shit' moment, wouldn't it?

   Between the droughts, fires and floods, along with mono-culture crops that are engineered for greater productivity per acre, and to resist herbicides so a farmer can 'nuke' weeds and not kill the soybeans or whatever (don't even get me started on the implications of GMO crops)....along with the loss of topsoil to erosion and the move to huge commercial ag operations that have pushed aside the small family farms that once formed the backbone of our agricultural economy...we are potentially looking at a massive multiple crop failure.  We are looking at a scenario that would mean starvation and devastation on a biblical level. 

  Climate change is at the very heart of this. But, a world that is sliding towards autocracy and fascism can make it all worse....MUCH worse.  Except, of course, for the elites who are busily insulating themselves from such horrifying possibilities. 

THIS IS REAL, FOLKS! 

   And, denial is a luxury we cannot afford to languish in.  It will be the death of us, if we do.